Renewed Crackdown on Carelessly Dumped e-bikes
Council forced to act after rising number of complaints
H&F Law Enforcement Team (LET) officers moving a TIER e-bike blocking the pavement
June 27, 2023
Having warned of a possible crackdown on e-bikes obstructing the pavement earlier this year, Hammersmith & Fulham Council says it is now proactively moving cycles parked illegally or anti-socially.
Earlier this year a new reporting tool was introduced for borough residents to notify the council of e-bikes blocking walkways and roads and it has already received nearly 1,000 reports.
In May, residents reported more than 660 illegally parked rental bikes – 21 a day on average – with an all-time high of nearly 50 reports on 13 May.
June’s numbers have since dropped to 234 bikes (as of 23 June), with reports averaging at 11 bikes a day. The council claims that its campaign in which officers from the borough’s Law Enforcement Team (LET) and Parking Team are being sent out to keep pavements clear has led to the reduction.
It is the rental companies’ responsibility to ensure that vehicles are parked correctly, and pavement obstructions cleared as swiftly as possible, but the council felt obliged to act due to the rising number of complaints.
A Lime e-bike blocking the pavement in Langthorne Street, Fulham
Residents can continue to report wrongly parked bikes via H&F Report It (desktop), or on a smart phone using the H&F Report It Love Clean Streets app.
Cllr Sharon Holder, H&F Cabinet Member for the Public Realm, said, “It’s great that more people are choosing to cycle rather than drive. But too many bikes are being parked dangerously on pavements, causing big problems for older and Disabled people and families pushing babies.
“We’re asking people who hire a bike to be considerate and park safely. And we’ve made it clear to the companies that they need to step up enforcement of the rules.”
Like Reading Articles Like This? Help Us Produce More This site remains committed to providing local community news and public interest journalism. Articles such as the one above are integral to what we do. We aim to feature as much as possible on local societies, charities based in the area, fundraising efforts by residents, community-based initiatives and even helping people find missing pets. We’ve always done that and won’t be changing, in fact we’d like to do more. However, the readership that these stories generates is often below that needed to cover the cost of producing them. Our financial resources are limited and the local media environment is intensely competitive so there is a constraint on what we can do. We are therefore asking our readers to consider offering financial support to these efforts. Any money given will help support community and public interest news and the expansion of our coverage in this area. A suggested monthly payment is £8 but we would be grateful for any amount for instance if you think this site offers the equivalent value of a subscription to a daily printed newspaper you may wish to consider £20 per month. If neither of these amounts is suitable for you then contact info@neighbournet.com and we can set up an alternative. All payments are made through a secure web site. One-off donations are also appreciated. Choose The Amount You Wish To Contribute. If you do support us in this way we’d be interested to hear what kind of articles you would like to see more of on the site – send your suggestions to the editor. For businesses we offer the chance to be a corporate sponsor of community content on the site. For £30 plus VAT per month you will be the designated sponsor of at least one article a month with your logo appearing if supplied. If there is a specific community group or initiative you’d like to support we can make sure your sponsorship is featured on related content for a one off payment of £50 plus VAT. All payments are made through a secure web site. |